Our plan for this year was to get the garden up and running, and make it productive. If all goes according to plan, our next step will be raising meat rabbits.
I have never raised rabbits, and frankly don't really care for them as pets; that may be why I found it easy to make the jump to the idea of rabbits as a food source. They are ideal for urban homesteads, since they are quiet and don't need much space. Their manure makes an excellent fertilizer (it is the only manure that won't "burn" plants if put directly into the garden), and their pelts are nice too. Apparently they are relatively easy to kill and dress, which makes them an excellent starter animal.
But there was one problem - we had never eaten rabbit before. That seemed the most important thing to consider if we were seriously considering them as our first livestock. Luckily the last time I was at the Farmer's Market the Amish man was there (don't get me started on the Amish man's booth... I spend at least $10 more if he's there than if he isn't.) He sells cheese, eggs, granola, and meat... lo and behold, he carries rabbit!
I found this recipe online (combined a few, actually... most called for heavy cream soups or sour cream, and we're trying to be more healthy...)
INGREDIENTS:
- Rabbit meat, dressed.
- Herbs and Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Plain yogurt
- 1 can vegetable or chicken stock
- Carrots and Potatoes, quartered and rinsed.
Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low. Meat should be under or nearly submerged in the broth - add water to mixture if the broth isn't high enough.
This was really tasty! Rabbit tastes a bit like a VERY lean pork to me - there was virtually no fat, which means that the meat can run a bit dry (most people fry or slow cook it for this reason), but it also means that if you're picky about fat on food (Husband and I both HATE to eat a piece of fat...) rabbit might be the meat for you! The meat fell right off of the bone, and most of it was edible. I think next time I might coat the rabbit in the yogurt before the spices, as this might keep more moisture trapped in the meat.
Overall, if more people ate rabbit (or other low-impact livestock) and kept the cows for the special occasions, the planet (and our bodies) would be in MUCH better shape right now!
